Even If The Moments Are Brief...

 

Hi!

Ahhhhhhh Summer!

The season that rushes by at the speed of sunshine. 

A season of wasting time that is never time wasted.

A season of laughter, barbeques, and s'mores, 

A season of bike rides, road trips, and mosquitoes.

A season of sand castles, swimming, and dripping ice cream cones. 

A season of romantic sunsets, witnessed from the blanket-laden bed of a truck, only to be outdone by the stars that follow, a majestic canopy, this land of living skies.

A season of creating memories to keep us warm on the cold winter nights we know are coming.

Ahhhhh summer.

If this summer is a dark season for you, for whatever reason, please try to take a moment or two to allow the sun to kiss your face, to let the breeze caress your skin. Even if the moments are brief, even if they are far between, please try. 

With inflation being what it is, you can almost hear the belts being tightened across the globe. This isn't a one-country problem, or a one-continent problem, it's hitting the world. 

And just like with the pandemic, we may all be weathering the same storm, but we are not all in the same boat. 

For some, the higher prices are an inconvenience, barely noticed. For others, it has made day-to-day life an even bigger struggle than it was before.

If you were already running out of money before you were running out of month, no amount of magical budgeting is going to stretch that dollar any further.

So, if you can. If you are able. If you have the means to do so, please donate to your local food banks this summer. 

School food programs help fill the gaps where hungry kids are concerned, but once school closes...

The working poor is a much bigger swath of our society than we would like to admit. Working full time, for a great number of people does not generate enough money to live on. And, I'm not talking about living loud, I'm talking about being able to pay rent and buy food at the same time. 

Too many like to say things like they should just work harder, or they should have gone to school, or blah blah blah.

I'm sorry, but nobody should have to work more than one full-time job just to survive. To pay for the extras? Sure, then by all means, but to just survive?

As far as school goes, it's not a given for everyone, for whatever reason. Lacking a secondary education shouldn't deprive you of living a dignified life. It absolutely shouldn't sentence you to a lifetime of no less than three jobs to keep flesh and bone together. 

So yeah, if you can, give. If you can't give, at least don't judge. And, if you can't restrain from judging, at least don't assume you know their stories. 

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Sidenote*

On the fourth of July, millions of citizens of the United States started the day with the excitement and anticipation of celebrating the anniversary of their independence.

After a couple of years of having to abandon many traditions, as we have the world over, there were, perhaps, exaggerated high hopes that often follow an extended absence of something so beloved. 

Then came the shootings.

I'm not sure of the exact number of deaths and injuries. all I know is that one is too many.

How many families were gutted that day? And for what?

A two-year-old little boy was found crying beside the bullet-torn bodies of his young parents. An orphan, created by the choices made by people lining their campaigns with blood-soaked cash.

The same people who keep beating everyone over the head with their bibles, screaming about how they are Pro-life.

The "mass shooter" culture that is slithering its way through the dark web, and not-so-dark web, where they chat about these atrocities like a video game, where they celebrate their destruction, their horror.

Do something. The rest of the world watches and weeps for you. Yes, none of us are perfect either, but you are the only one with this gun fetish. The only one with this addiction to violence. Do something. 

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May your summer be filled with icy drinks, sweet company, and cool adventures.

May you find a way to enjoy it, let it in, even for brief moments. For they are the ones that count. 

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